Top Ten Picture Books to Read Aloud to Fifth Graders

- Shortcut by Donald Crews


This small moment story is focused on a group of brothers and sisters taking a shortcut home on the railroad tracks.  They have some fun goofing around and experience a little danger when an unexpected freight train shows up.   


- No, David! by David Shannon


In 13 years, I've never met a class that didn't enjoy this book.  You can use it discuss the themes of love and forgiveness or use it to teach revision for the ideas trait.









- Thundercake by Patricia Polacco


This is my favorite book by Patricia Polacco.  Fetching the ingredients to make a cake is a very clever way to solve the problem of being afraid of thunderstorms.  To show ideas, the story explodes moments and uses dialogue. 




- Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems


 I love Knuffle Bunny and enjoy Knuffle Bunny Too but Knuffle Bunny Free is my favorite in the series.  Once again, Trixie loses Knuffle Bunny, but this book isn't just about Trixie finding Knuffle Bunny, it is about Trixie growing up.




- Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee


I'm pretty sure Marla Frazee is my favorite illustrator.  I just love how life like her pictures are. Roller Coaster is a great book for modeling focusing on one small moment of a big trip.  It is safe to assume that the main character did more than ride one roller coaster at the amusement park, but that is all Marla Frazee writes about.  


- The Daddy Mountain by Jules Feiffer


This is another book that does a great job of focusing on a short moment in time and just exploding it with tons of detail.  Instead of writing "I climbed up my daddy," Jules Feiffer stretches the moment out using step by step details of the ascent with funny thought shots mixed in along the way.




- Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenhaar


Just like, The Daddy Mountain and Roller Coaster, Owl Moon takes a moment that could be written with very little detail and stretches it out into a beautiful book.  A young girl and her father go searching for a owl in the middle of the night.  Students wonder if they will ever spot one. 





- The Three Little Dinosaurs by Jim Harris


I love to read traditional fairy tales to fifth graders because with so many books and TV shows out there, they don't normally know them. While I'm not a big fan of the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs, with the long drawn out ending,  I am a big fan of The Three Little Dinosaurs.  In this retelling, a "big bad Tyrannosaurus rex" tries to eat three little dinos that have left their mother's slde The ending is awesome.


- Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau and Scott Magoon


Ugly Fish is a mean and selfish fish that eats all of the fish that move into his tank.  When he finally comes to the conclusion that he might be happier if he had a friend to play with, his owner decides to buy a bigger meaner fish.  Students love this not so happy surprise ending.


- Tadpole's Promise written by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Tony Ross

This is probably my favorite book to read to students because the ending is just done right awesome.  In the three years that I've read it, only one student has ever predicted the ending correctly.  In the book, Tadpole and Caterpillar fall in love.  Caterpillar keeps getting mad at Tadpole because he keeps breaking his promise that he won't change.  They eventually go their separate ways.  Then in the end, after Caterpillar has turned into a butterfly she goes off to find her Tadpole, not knowing he has changed into a frog.  When the butterfly and the frog meet again is  my favorite ending in all of picture books.